bobmurphy Joined: Mar 19, 2004 Posts: 14 PM |
having searched the internet for some guidelines as to how to install the hca-20,and not found any - {god knows they could very well be on this forum but i was not able to locate them myself} - i will briefly document my experience here in case it is of any help to anyone
I use a p900 and i decided to go for the hch-30 option for a holder - which necessitates using the hcc-30 system cable
first of all i purchased a dashmount bracket to suit my 92 corrolla from dashmount.co.uk - i found installation of this relatively easy despite the fact that they sent me installation instructions for a vw golf by accident -- the dash centre was just prized out and a single screw attached the mount - the hch-30 then bolted on to this nicely
next problem was to run the power cable to the battery and mount the included fuse holder -- i chose to install this in the engine compartment but it could easily be loctated inside either
i was lucky enough to discover a spare rubber grommett from the back of the dash ( having removed the entire glove compartment - just 5 screws ) -- so i punched a small hole in it and threaded the power cable through.
From there i wound it around a couple of ductings/loom; being careful not to bring it near anything that might burn the cable - and eventually terminated the cable near where i had chosen to mount the fuse holder. I found a nice spot for this on the side of a current fuse box and i attached it using hook and loop pads { they have an adhesive on one side and a sort of velcro on the other } so i attached one side to the fusebox and the other to the fuseholder ( after first wiping any dust etc away to ensure a good bond )
next i wired the fuse and leads by putting the stripped ends of the leads into the included fittings and crimping them with a pliers and then putting on a dot of solder and some electrical tape on for good measure --
the wiring goes like this - black wire goes direct to the negative terminal of the battery and the red cable goes through the fuse holder first ( which means cutting off a piece of red cable so as to effectively insert the fuse inline on the red cable) -- the two tabs with the circular holes go on the ends which connect to the battery with the two rectangular tabs going in the red cable to connect it to the fuse ( diagram in the end of the inst. manual ) - the polarity of the fuse is not important but it should be on the red wire
WARNING make sure to disconnect the battery before messing around with it ( if the two terminals are connected in any way -- eg screwdriver etc -- then the battery can explode --- thats acid !! -- so dont let it happen ) - also one of the terminals is deliberately connected to the car's bodywork so you mustn't let the other terminal touch off the body work either -- check whether your car is positive or negative earth before you start.
next as above i disconnected the battery and then connected the two leads ( red to + .... black to - )
at this point i decided to check the system so i plugged in the external speaker ( not used in final setup ) and mike and also the hcc-30 and into this my p900 -- i rang myself using the house phone and all went well
next i ran the ingnition sensor cable ( part of power cable ) over through the dash to the part of the dash under the ignition ( i also removed this using 4 screws ) -- however in the end i didnt connect it as it's optional and i didnt have time -- it's just safer as it protects your car battery if you leave the phone in the system and forget about it. i will get around to it sometime
next i took out the radio and connected the advanced music mute -- it is actually simplicity itself if you have an iso cable as all i had to do was to pull apart the existing block and put this one inline instead ( ignoring the telemute cable as my stereo doesnt have that pin --- not sure what it does but the lack of it doesnt interfere with calls/muting ) -- the final connecter on the AMM cable i pulled behind the dash to the back of the glove compartment and into the hca-20 as in the diagram at the back of installation manual -- i did similarly with the microphone and the system cable, installing the mike as in the instructions on the dash at an angle less than 30deg and a distance of less than 50cm; and the system cable ( having pushed out the default connector from the hch-30 and inserting the hcc-30 instead ) i was able to squeeze in between two pieces of dash to have it make an exit just beside where the hch-30 was mounted ( looks neat ) - again the other end just pushed into the hca-20
so with all the leads in place i had to actually mount the hca-20 unit ( this is actually the crux of the installation IMO and you should spend a lot of time working it out )
i had decided to mount the unit behind the glove compartment on top of what looks like part of the heating system -- i hope it doesnt get too hot but i suspect the hca-20 can manage a good bit of temperature anyway
there are mounting screws included but i didnt want to puncture the workings of the heating system so i used the hook and loop pads again - they worked fine and now i can remove the unit for inspection if needs be.
i used the advised cable tie to rout all the leads along one side of the device and several more to tidy up the leads behind the glove compartment
a quick test proved everything working fine so i replaced the bits of the dash including the glove compartment and went for a spin to try it out
altogether the job prob took me 5-6 hours but i am a bit of a novice at this sort of stuff and i spent a lot of time looking at things trying to figure it out - searching the net for info -- checking and testing etc -- i was taking my time also -- i suspect a person who has experience of auto electrics could do it in a couple of hours or maybe less than one if they were very experienced
btw there is no arial option when using the hch-30
this job is quite doable by anyone provided they can get their head around the battery connections and can manage to dismantle the dash bits without doing damage
NB please be careful not to short out the battery -- if in doubt about this then you should really leave it to a pro -- or at least do some reading up on basic electricity as a battery explosion could be really nasty
good luck -- i hope this helps
bob
[ This Message was edited by: bobmurphy on 2004-06-09 01:07 ] |